Mukhtasar Muslim

Sayyiduna Abu Tufail says: I said to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), "What is your opinion regarding performing raml (brisk walk) three times and walking four times during tawaf? Because your people say that it is Sunnah." He replied, "They are both truthful and untruthful." I asked, "What does it mean that they spoke the truth and also lied?" He said, "When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Makkah, the polytheists said that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions cannot perform tawaf of the Sacred House due to weakness and frailty, and they were jealous of him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that three rounds be done with raml and four rounds be walked as usual. (The point is, their falsehood was in considering this act as an intended, emphasized Sunnah, while the rest of the statement was true.) Then I said, 'Tell us about performing sa'i between Safa and Marwah while riding— is this Sunnah? Because your people call it Sunnah.' He said, 'They are both truthful and untruthful.' I asked, 'What does that mean?' He replied, 'When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Makkah, there was such a crowd of people that even virgin girls came out, and people began to say, "This is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), this is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was so good-natured that people would not be pushed away in front of him (meaning, there was no "make way" as is done for worldly rulers). Then, when the crowd became very large, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rode (an animal), and performing sa'i on foot is superior. (That is, the falsehood was in considering something done out of necessity as Sunnah without necessity, while the truth is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did perform sa'i while riding.)"